Your shout

I feel moved to write in because of the vile comments given in response to the Personal Effects column regarding baby/finances. Whilst making an ex pay up may not be the most positive attitude, the suggestion that the woman abort because she will be a lone parent is cruel and anachronistic.

I am in a loving, stable relationship and somehow managed to find a man who wants to have my children but this did not stop us worrying about how we would cope financially when we found out I was pregnant. Tax credits, savings and responsible employers have relieved the worry.

It seems extremely harsh to suggest that the child should not be born because of a failed relationship. I, like a significant proportion of us, have grown up in a fractured family with a father living apart but I work hard, went to university, have never been convicted of a crime and have formed a loving family unit of my own. Indeed, my fractured family is a lot more loving and stable than many un-fractured ones.

I hope the woman has the support she needs to get through this time and the strength to ignore the invective her question elicited.

Catriona Venner de Cortez, Cornwall

I was shocked to read some of the letters in response to the Personal Effects question. "Do change your mind and have an abortion" was outright malice.

I read these letters through, thinking that there might be somewhere in them the helpful suggestions that are supposed to be the whole point of this column and found none. So why were they printed?

Should these people really be given column space to express such ugly views? Dr N. Keni, West Sussex

Double standards on buying second homes

I remember reading a couple of articles a month or so ago in Guardian Money, deriding the effect buy-to-let landlords have had in the UK market. Today, in the same section of the same paper, we have a three-page section on "holiday homes you can afford" in Europe.

Am I alone in spotting a hint of double standards in criticising one group of extra home buyers and encouraging another? Are the rules for the UK market different from those overseas? Hmmm ... Ian Clark, Oundle

In your article on property abroad, the section on Italy states; Good value: Perugia; Don't go there: Venice, Tuscany, Umbria and the lakes. In the text, the article notes that "one of the best overall packages of value and desirability is the area one hour's drive from Perugia ..."

Perugia is, in fact, the biggest town in Umbria, so which is it? "Don't go there" or "best value, etc?" Not a convincing analysis. John Mulcahy, Co Donegal

What are we paying these assessors for?

So home inspector Mike Lyndon (Your shout, September 8) states that employed domestic energy assessors can easily achieve up to 120 Energy Performance Certificates for Home Information Packs a month. This is about 30 a week, or one every 80 minutes in an eight-hour day. Factor into this the travelling time between the properties and the writing up of the reports and it does not seem to me that they are spending very much time on the task.

It makes one question what we are paying for. Is it a summary of the easily visible elements of a home's energy consumption, ie something that I'm sure the average buyer can ascertain for themselves? Tony Buttifint, via email

Educate consumers on energy efficiency too

Yet again you have published a consumer test (Which? test of range cookers) which doesn't mention energy efficiency. There is widespread ignorance about the higher energy efficiency ratings and even when you are trying to be really green it is remarkably difficult to get the information you need.

The energy rating system is now quite out-of-date and most people think A equals the highest standard when in fact, for some types of appliance, it is the new C.

With all the talk of carbon neutral homes, electrical equipment used in the home will have to be a major factor. There are a few retailers who are homing in on energy efficiency - GreenSteps.co.uk is a good place to start. David Moxon, Hindhead, Surrey

'Low-cost' airlines and their hidden charges

A major frustration with the "low-cost" airlines, is the practice of adding on hidden fees on pages further into the booking site. I have just booked three flights to Spain on Jet2.com. Halfway through the booking process, there's £10 per piece of hold baggage less than 18kg. Once you type in your card details a further "card handling charge per person per sector" appears. I have no idea how a card handling charge is affected by how many people are booked under one payment.

And there is no warning about these charges until you've virtually committed to the flights. Bandits, the lot of them.Simon Lievesley, via email